Unit 6 Healthy Environment

Category: Environment, Exercise, Poverty, Sleep

Last Updated: 02 Apr 2020

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Unit 6 Promoting a Healthy Environment for Children E1) Practitioners can work on promoting and maintain a healthy lifestyle and environment by: ? Allowing children to have a balanced diet, this can be done by encouraging children to eat their five-a-day. By reading books and poems that they can join into, this will help children to remember the importance of having a balanced diet. By having fruit and vegetables provided for the children in school, helps them to eat at least on piece a day. The School Fruit & Vegetable scheme is a programme that helps to increase fruit & vegetable intake.

This is important as each child deserves a healthy start in life as it may influence their health in the future. The School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme states: “By providing four to six year old children with an extra portion of fruit or vegetable each school day, along with a positive and enjoyable experience of eating fruit and vegetables, the scheme encourages children to develop positive attitudes towards fruit and vegetables. ” (www. dh. gov. uk) ? If a child is allowed regular exercise it allows motivation of brain activity, aids the digestive system, develops bone density and maintains it and strengths the muscles.

Physical activities such as practical training, P. E. , climbing frames and riding bikes help children to develop social skills as they are playing with each other. The British Heart Foundation proposes “That children and young people need at least one hour of moderate activity a day. ” This does not have to be done at one time, but can be at different times during the day. As young children are still developing practitioners should allow them to have a stop-start approach to exercise, when children are feeling tired they should be allowed to sit down and rest for the amount of time they want before getting up and playing again.

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Practitioners should encourage children to do exercise outside of the setting as well as inside. They could do this by joining Walk to School 2008, when the practitioners talk about this with the children they are able to learn about the benefits of walking, road safety, awareness and the environment around them. 50% of children do not walk to school regularly and more are being driven to and from school, by being driven children are reducing their physical activity. ?Risk assessments identify and minimise risks, they are not created to make n environment risk free. Practitioners should encourage children to take risks, as long as they are managed and strongly supervised. By doing so they are promoting a healthy environment as all settings have risks, as long as these risks don’t stop children from doing anything they could help to create an enabling environment. Danks and Schofield state: “Life if full of risk, so the best way to prepare children for life is to ensure that they [learn] how to judge risk for themselves. ” (Source: Danks, F. & Schofield, J (2005) Nature’s Playground) E2/B1)

There are many different types of legislations which helps to maintain that a child has a right to life, development, to be healthy and also the right for children to have an education. E3/E4) Factors such as housing, poverty, breast feeding and the child’s lifestyle may affect their health and well being at differing times in their lives. ?Housing affects the health of a child as it can cause a lot of diseases if the house is poorly maintained or designed the most remarkably is asthma. If a house is overcrowded it may be dangerous to a child's health as diseases may be transmitted between each family member.

Poverty is linked with poor housing as if a family was to live on a low income it would be harder for them to heat the house as it would be expensive. In addition to this home insurance would be expensive for families in poor housing as these areas would be more likely to be hit by crime. As families are living on a lower income the furniture may be unsafe as they haven’t got the money to fix or buy another one. Poor housing effects children’s social skills as the parents may feel that they don’t want the child’s friends around as they are ashamed of the way they are living.

As a result to this the children may feel left out of discussions that are happening in their setting. Children may also feel they are losing out as they do not have the space at home to do any extra activities, such as homework. ?Diet and exercise is important to a child as it plays a main part in their development. Breast feeding a baby gives them the best nutritional start in life, over the months, the milk’s composition changes to meet the nutritional needs of the baby as it growing and developing.

By breast feeding it lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, is associated with better cognitive development and the milk contains antibodies which means the baby is less likely to get a disease in their earliest months of life. They are less likely to develop food allergies, respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses and are less likely to become obese adults. When breastfeeding the mother and baby are able to build a bond between them, furthermore as there is no sterilising it is more hygienic. As breast milk needs no preparation it is always ready, always at the right temperature and free.

Mothers who have a lower income are more likely to breast feed immediately after birth, then bottle feed. ?Families and their communities have an effect on children, as some families like to spend there spare time playing sports and others looking after animals. As more children are staying indoors to play with friends on game consoles, computers and watching television they are not allowing themselves to physical activity outdoors. In addition to this if children were to play indoors, they do not have enough space to run around, as children are always reminded not to run inside and to slow down.

So unless activities are carefully organised it can be hard for a larger scale activity to happen, which is why fine motor skills activities are usually promoted indoors. If a child is living with a lone parent who has an abusive partner, this could have an effect on the child, as the child may see the abusive behaviour and feel this is the way he/she should behave towards their parent. This may affect the child’s mental health as well. E5) Mealtime routines include following the parents instructions, as some parents may want their child to eat at certain times as it follows the routine the child has at home.

Sometimes the parents may want to work with the practitioners to establish a regular mealtime routine. All children have different diets, e. g. lactose intolerant, vegetarian, gluten and wheat free diet etc, and this should all be taking into consideration. Practitioners and the child’s family should talk about which foods are and are not appropriate for the child before starting the setting. Most children would prefer to use their fingers when eating, but should be given the opportunity to develop their skills by using a spoon, fork and then a knife.

These should be the child sized versions and appropriate to the child’s age, level of development and culture. Children should also be encouraged to use the cutlery safely; in addition to this children should find mealtimes a pleasurable time and not feel like it is a battle zone. If children are put with other children it becomes a social experience of the eating there meal together. In the appendix, child K was observed while eating lunch, the intended learning objective was for her to use her spoon more instead of using her fingers to eat her lunch.

When eating the child K behaved in a calm manner and followed the instructions that the practitioner had given her, when asked to use her spoon instead of her fingers. Child K was able to communicate with the practitioner in an effective way as she the practitioner to open the yogurt for her. By looking at the appendix, I can see that child K is becoming more confident when using her spoon, as she would use her fingers at certain times but then go back to using her spoon; she was also able to use a pincer grip.

At certain times when she could not use the spoon to pick up food she resulted back to her fingers. So by the end of the observation I feel like the intended learning objective was successful. Naptime routines are needed as most young children need lots of sleep. When putting children to bed it can sometimes be a challenging time. This is because the child can become stressed in addition to this it could also be a time of warmth and security. As all children may not want to sleep, practitioners could create a relaxed and quite rest time for them.

Some children may have outgrown the need for a daytime sleep in that case there should be a restful mood created where children can do some quite activities, such as completing a jigsaw which can help the body to unwind and rest. As all children are different they may have specific requirements to help them full asleep such as having a comforter or a glass/bottle of hot milk. If a child id with someone that is recognisable to them they may find it easier to fall asleep, then with someone that they are not so familiar with.

As seen in the appendix, children between the ages of one and four years need an average of 10 and 14 hours sleep. As whilst asleep this is when the cells in the body and brain can repair themselves and are less vulnerable to illnesses and accidents. When the body is deprived of sleep a child’s concentration, temper and ability to learn is also affected. E6) Activity 1: Activity :| To grow watercress| (brief description)| | | We want the children to learn that growing part of their 5-a-day| | can be fun. In addition to this to help them try new foods, which| | they would have a hand in preparing. | This links with the EYFS as in Knowledge and Understanding of| What do we want| the World (Exploration and Investigation pg 80). The early| the children to| learning goals for a child aged 40-60+ months are:| learn? | ? Investigating objectives and materials by using all of their| (learning intentions)| senses as appropriate. | | ? Find out about, and identify, some features of living things,| | objects and events they observe. | | ? Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change. | | ? Ask questions about why things happen and how things work. Number of children| Four| in group:| | Ages of children| 4 – 5 years old| the group:| | | In the weeks before the activity we will be the teaching the| | children about the importance of having 5-a-day and also about| How will the| how plants grow. On the day of the activity, which would be in the| activity be| morning, I would sit them on the carpet and explain to them what| introduced? | we are going to do which is growing our own watercress. I would| (What will the adult| explain to them that this would be done in groups of four, so if| be doing?

As children get older they will have more of a preference of what they would like to eat, but new foods could still be introduced if the child helps to prepare them, this would also help them improve their self-confidence as they are eating something that they helped to make. If children help to lay the table at mealtimes this would help them gain independence. Mealtime routines can promote a balanced diet, by eating a variety of fruit and vegetables, bread, other cereals and potatoes, meat, fish and alternatives, milk and dairy foods, foods containing fat and sugar.

Children are able to develop a strong, well formed body; they would have enough energy to keep warm and active, grow to their full potential height, maintain an appropriate weight for their height and age. Hygiene is interlinked with mealtime routines, as both adults and children should wash their hands after visiting the toilet, changing a nappy and giving a feed, by doing this they will be preventing the spread of germs. By the adults doing this they can become role models to the children, which encourages them to wash their hands. In addition to this it should be explained to children why they are washing their hands e. . they are dirty and may have germs on them. There should be soap and water for them to wash their hands and individual towels for the children to dry them, preventing the spread of germs. As children get older To allow children to have a structure, as children start to understand at certain times they will have to do activities. they should be encouraged to wash their hands and face by themselves, this allows them to gain independence. Furthermore it helps them with gaining confidence to wash when at home, as they have done it at nursery. Sleep/rest routines promote a healthy environment as when children are tired they become restless and irritable, where they find it hard to control their emotions. By having this sort of routine the children are able to unwind from the activities that they have done and allow their bodies to prepare for oncoming activities. Children need specific hours of sleep; this can be done with a sleep pattern throughout the day. This also helps the children as they know at certain times of the day it is time for them to sleep and unwind.

When sleeping the body’s heart rate, bodily functions and breathing slow down meaning that when they wake they feel more refreshed and allows concentration, frame of mind and memory to function properly. If children are deprived from sleep it can cause the brain to suffer long deprivation. When children wake they may feel unsettled, so the child should be made to feel comforted. As the body loses water when it is asleep children should be offered a drink of water when woken. As well as children who are toilet trained should be familiar with the fact that when they wake they should use the toilet.

Activities can promote and maintain a healthy lifestyle: ? In my first activity in E6 (cooking potatoes and vegetables) it interlinks with children having their 5-a-day, it also encourages them to help when preparing food. As potato is a vegetable it counts as one of their 5-a-day if a handful is eating. Even if a child is not keen on vegetables, when helping to prepare food the child is more likely to eat it. This is also a social event as the children are able to sit and talk together, which also develops respects for each other. In an everyday environment e. . a setting, practitioners could provide opportunities of different foods to children in a relaxed environment, which allows a unique chance to encourage healthy eating alongside the growth of educational and social skills. “Young people’s eating patterns can be shaped through a variety of routes. Schools offer most important opportunity for educating children on nutritional issues and facilitating and encouraging healthy eating patterns alongside the development of academic and social skills. ” (Source: www. thesnackpack. net (2002))

When using the watercress in meals it is important that the children use their sense of smell, they will also enjoy the fact that they grew it themselves this links with the EYFS. C1) The reason for planning and implementing activities which contribute to promoting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are: ? ?Planning activities help to identify children’s needs, and provide for them. E. g. a washing clothes activity, things such as fragrances and chemicals in the washing powder could make the child’s eczema flare up, so if an activity like this was to be planned biological soap powder would be preferred.

This would help the practitioner plan, to every child’s need no matter the age or size. These plans should be established on the child’s abilities and be able to support them rather then on the age norms for the child. ?When planning trips the child to staff ratio is considered, as it is important that there are enough staff member, so that children are kept a watchful eye on and are in a safe environment. If there is not enough staff members this will not be possible and children are at a higher risk of going missing.

They would also be able to look at activities that they have done before to see if improvements can be made for the next time. ?If activities are not planned correctly there can be risks associated with they activity, where children can be put in harm and danger. When making risk assessments it is important to: 1. Recognize the hazard/s (which is anything that may cause harm to yourself or the child? ) 2. Decide who the hazard may affect and how? 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions. 4. Record the findings and put them into practice. 5. Review the risk assessment.

By reviewing the assessment the practitioner would be able to see if it has got better, and if the hazard is still there, if anything needs changing it is possible. They will also be able to go back to the assessment if anything was to go wrong. ? When children have special needs, it is important to incorporate this with the planning of the setting. As they may need outside help to support the needs of the child. Child psychiatrists are an example of this as they work with children who are showing emotional and depression difficulties. As these doctors have been trained in mental health they specialise in helping children.

This helps support children to develop in areas which they are struggling in but because of emotional difficulties are missing out on. E2/B1) There are several different legislations that support the rights of children to a healthy lifestyle and help to safeguard and underpin the rights of children in life. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is one regulation that supports this. This regulation is an international agreement, which was drawn up in 1989; it applies to all children and young people under the age of 18 years.

Article 2 (from the Little Book of Children’s Rights ; Responsibilities, given by Angela Marney on Wednesday 8th October 2008) says that “The convention applies to everyone, whatever their race, religion, abilities, whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. ” This article shows that practitioners and the government should be diverse when dealing with children. In addition to this it shows that children should be treated equally by adults no matter their race or colour as by doing this the children are learning by modelling the behaviour of the adult.

If a child is not treated equally they may feel left out and it may emotionally distress the child, meaning that the child may feel different compared to the other children. Article 12 (from the Little Book of Children’s Rights ; Responsibilities, given by Angela Marney on Wednesday 8th October 2008) says, “Children have the right to say what they think should happen, when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into account. ” This article shows that children’s opinions are important and should be taking into consideration and should be consulted hen their parents are separating, as the child should have a preference of who they stay with. As the child decision may not be final, it would be taking into consideration, when trying to make that final decision. Article 19 (from the Little Book of Children’s Rights ; Responsibilities, given by Angela Marney on Wednesday 8th October 2008) says, “Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for, and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them. This article is important as children should not be subjected to cruelty. Children are being subjected to cruelty by the same people that are meant to be protecting them from the world; no adult has the right to subject any child to this. The Children Act 1989 also helps to support the rights of children. “The Children Act 1989 covers the following: ?reforms the law relating to children; ?makes provision for local authority services for children in need and others; ? amends the law with respect to children's homes, community home, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations; ? akes provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption, and for connected purposes. ” (Source: http://www. dcsf. gov. uk/childrenactreport/ Accessed: 19/01/2009) It was updated in 2004 to include Every Child Matters: Change for Children, this was an approach to look for the well-being of children and young people from birth to 19 years. The aim of this is to make sure that every child, whether their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to: ? Be healthy ?Stay safe Enjoy and achieve ?Make a positive contribution ?Achieve economic well-being. Any organisation that is involved with providing services for children, teams up to provide new ways to work together and share information to help protect children from harm and help them to achieve what they want in life. A1) My first experience was an afternoon trip to The Co-Operative. We took a group of children aged 2-3 years, after they had woken from there afternoon nap. The aim of the trip was to teach the children about the different fruit and vegetables.

As there were only four children there was me and one member of staff, we both had two children, we walked as The Co- Operative wasn’t far from us. We made sure that the children had their coats so that they could stay warm. The only major barrier was that we had to cross the road, as there was a zebra crossing we used that. There was also a lollipop lady, we made sure that they looked left and right to see if any cars were coming and explained to them why we were doing this. When arriving at The Co-Operative we made sure that the children stayed close and were in eye sight at all times.

When we found the fruit and vegetables, we asked them questions, such as if they knew what they were called and if they knew the colours of them. My second experience was a trip to the park; the children had finished their morning activities. There were three members of staff and me, we took a group of eight children, and like the first activity there were two children to each adult but this time the children’s ages ranged between 2-4 years. The reason for the trip was for the children to get some fresh air and to exercise.

As it was a sunny day the children did not need coats but all had jumpers on. We had to cross the road at an island as this was the safest way. When arriving at the park the children were only allowed to play in the designated area, which we made sure that we supervised very strictly. My first experience to The Co-Operative linked to the planning of the setting as at the time they were reading the book Handa’s Surprise, and they were learning about all the different fruits that were in that book and we were also helping them learn new vegetables.

It also helps them to improve on their vocabulary and counting as we asked them how many items we had at the end of their shopping trip. It encourages them to eat health, which relates to healthy eating. My second experience to the park was linked to the planning of the setting as they would usually go outside to play in the garden, so we decided to give them more space to run around. When walking back from the park we asked them if they enjoyed their time, what they played on and if they wanted to go back soon, which helped the children to extend their vocabulary. The trip to the park helped them to have a daily ose of exercise. The cultural and social factors that were considered is that no child is discriminated against, that none of the children where there were made to feel left out and that their opinions and needs were respected, so they were treated as individuals. No matter what their race, religion, age or ability. For the first experience we made sure that it was appropriate for the children’s age. The social factors that were considered were to make sure that they interacted with each other and us as the practitioners; we made sure that they held the practitioner hand so they were safe.

We also made sure that they were interacting with other children and not just their usual circle of friends, by doing this the children got to build new relationships. It was important that children listened and followed the instructions and directions that were given to them by the practitioners; as if the instructions were not followed properly the children’s life could be put in danger. I feel that I was effective in both experiences as I asked the children questions, on the way back and asked them what they had remembered from the trip on the way back.

I was able to follow the instructions given to me in a calm manner and explain to my supervisor how both experiences were when I returned. The children listened and interacted to each other and to us as practitioners without any problems. The fact that they were both small group I was able to give the children support and the attention they needed, which helps them with their concentration and listening skills. During both experiences I was able to interact with the children and staff and monitor the behaviour and what was happening with the children’s progress

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Unit 6 Healthy Environment. (2016, Nov 22). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/unit-6-healthy-environment/

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